John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 59:5

"They hatch adders` eggs, and weave the spider`s web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth; and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper." — Isaiah 59:5 (ASV)

They hatch the eggs of the basilisk. The Prophet proceeds further, comparing the Jews not only to women but also to venomous beasts, to make it more evident that everything that proceeds from them is destructive and deadly. First, then, he says that they hatch the eggs of the basilisk. This is because, just as a viper cannot lay an egg that is not venomous, so they are so hardened in wickedness and so full of it that they can produce nothing but poison.

And weave the webs of spiders. By the webs of spiders he means that they are so barren and lacking anything good that they deceive even by the appearance of virtues.

He describes wicked men by two marks:

1. First, the works they perform reveal their corrupt nature.
2. Second, they are of no value whatever and contribute nothing towards making them kind, amiable, charitable, and faithful to those with whom they interact.

I am aware that this is explained in a different manner by other commentators: namely, that the wicked, while contriving the destruction of others, ruin themselves, and, while they think they are industrious, labor fruitlessly and to no purpose; that they are snared in their own nets (Psalms 9:15) and fall into the pit which they had digged (Psalms 7:15).

But I believe that the Prophet meant what I have just said: namely, that the wicked do mischief everywhere, always, and in all their dealings, and that they never do anything good. Furthermore, everyone who deals with them will find them to be venomous and destructive.

This is the meaning of what he says: that a deadly venom lurks in their eggs, and that if they are broken, a serpent will come out of them.